Princess Rescue Inc (22 page)

The
healer was amazed. The Queen and princesses caught some of this. The Queen
murmured to a female courtier with a pointed hat and lace dress to go get the
ladies in waiting.

When
the ladies arrived they cried and cooed over the girls and then rushed them off
to get them properly cleaned and dressed. Deidra reluctantly allowed herself to
be drawn off. She shot a look over her shoulder to Ryans and finally her
mother. Her mother made shooing motions and then turned to the gaijin. The
Queen talked with the others, murmuring quietly in the corner.

<==={}------------>

The
group at the gate was sent back to the hill with the others as night fell. Perry
set up a guard rotation for those in the castle, he wasn't at all happy about
his forces being divided into three camps. Lewis and the sergeant would cover
the vehicles in the courtyard. Charlie and Wanda insisted on joining them so
they were ferried up with a nervous looking pair of relief guards in a LAV to
the castle just before dark. Wanda was a nurse and chemist so she'd be an asset
helping Sue in watching over the fallen King.

Charlie
also had medical training but her primary skills were in biochemistry and basic
chemistry. Apparently Sue had asked her to come up to help figure out some
simple kitchen sink medications for the King in case they left.

<==={}------------>

Ryans
sighed as he escaped the medical tower and the knot of hangers on. He needed a
break from that mess. The King was being visited by his retainers and faithful
to reassure them that he was alive. Sue was grinding her teeth over it all. At
this rate she'd need dentures soon, Ryans thought. “Careful, the stairs are
slippery,” Ryans said wrinkling his nose.

“Ah,
yeah I see that,” Charlie said looking at the filthy mess. The grooves in the
blocks were swarming with mold and mildew. “What the hell?” she asked startled.

“People
go to the bathroom in the oddest places,” Perry said shaking his head.

“So
I... smelled,” Ryans coughed. “Versailles.”

“Huh?”
Charlie asked.

“It's
the palace in France. Where one of the wars ended in a treaty,” Perry answered.
Charlie gave him a curious look. “I went to France once.”

“Ah,”
she nodded. “So what does that have to do with this filth?” she coughed waving
a hand in front of her face. “Disgusting,” she choked out. “Can we get a move
on?” She waved to Zara who nodded, lifting her skirts to keep the hemline from
being tripped on or dragged through the filth. Zara had returned to show the
gaijin their quarters for the night.

“The
palace of Versailles, hell all the feudal buildings back in that time were
without plumbing. In fact Versailles was built without a single place to go to
the bathroom. Guests went in the stairs or in open pits,” Ryans explained.
“Number two is handled a bit differently, they had places where people would
sit over an open hole and the crap would either dribble into a pit someone had
to clean out later or down the outside of the castle walls into the moat.”

“Oh
god, that is so gross!” Charlie snarled, stepping in something squishy. She
shuddered. “Doesn't anyone realize this isn't healthy?” she demanded. Perry
looked at her.

“Hey!”
Perry snarled dodging a stream of yellow liquid as it tinkled down the stairs.
“Now that's just wrong! It's like living in a sewer!” he snarled. Charlie
dodged the stream.

“It's
much easier for you men,” Zara said from the front. She didn't look back.

“Yeah,
I can imagine, just whip it out any old place,” Charlie snarled.

“Well,
one end anyway,” Ryans snorted.

“Seriously,
this is bad. Not just the ammonia, I mean the fungus and mildew. The ammonia
kills some stuff, but other types of fungus and bacteria thrive in it!” She
pointed to a yellow stain near a door as they reached the next level. “That
crap gets into the air and it causes disease!” She waved then coughed.

Zara
looked back startled.

“No,
that's crap Charlie, but I see your point,” Perry nodded. He glanced at Zara.
“She's right Princess, it's a serious problem.” The princess's eyes were wide.
She frowned then nodded. “Puts a new spin on the proper hygiene lectures they
dished out in boot and in the academy,” Perry said shaking his head.

“Yeah,
I'd say so,” Ryans snorted. He inhaled then coughed. “Are we there yet?” he
asked weakly, eyes burning. Waving his hand in front of his face just made the
smell worse.

“We're
definitely getting this fixed. I mean right away. The spores can get into open
wounds...” Charlie glanced at Ryans who had stiffened. “Yeah, it's that
dangerous,” she said darkly.

Ryans
sighed, one hand protectively covering his wounds. The shallow ones were now
uncovered but the deeper ones were not. He was half healed. “Now you tell me.
Put it on the To-do list.”

“I
will. Right at the top,” she replied firmly. “You get to teach the natives how
to make modern plumbing and
use
it.”

“Yeah,
lucky me,” he said wrinkling his nose.

<==={}------------>

“Here
are your quarters,” Zara said, pushing a large ironwood door open. The hinges
were leather, something both Ryans and Perry were not comfortable with. “A bit
dark,” Charlie said, hand waving in front of her mouth. “And musty, hasn't
anyone opened a window in here?”

“Apparently
not,” Perry replied dryly as he went to the one window. It had a large cover
seat and multiple shutters. The shutters didn't do a good job; debris had come
in around the cracks. There were stains on the tartan cloth. He undid the
simple latch and then opened the windows. “There,” he said.

“It
will get cold,” Zara warned. For the first time she was both nonplussed and
embarrassed by her people and their living conditions. The gaijin kept
everything so clean and neat! She'd have to ask them how.

“Are
we really staying here?” Charlie asked.

“For
a while, at least the night.”

“How
long?” Charlie asked wrinkling her nose and pulling the bedding off the rickety
looking bed. The bed was made out of reeds bent and tied together into various
arches. She pulled out a spray and started spraying everything.

“I
think I'll um, bed down with the hummer,” Perry said.

“I'd
love to join you but no room,” Charlie said twitching the covers off and then
yelping as something scuttled off into the shadows.

“We'll
deal with it,” Ryans replied grimly.

“How
long are we going to be here again?” Charlie asked looking around. A maid had
come in behind them and was tending the open pit fireplace. A boy was hauling a
basket with moss and branches and other things.

“That's
not a whole lot of firewood,” Charlie griped.

“You're
going to be in a sleeping bag remember?” Ryans asked. “And yes you can have the
bed. I'll sleep on um...” he looked around and then sighed and pointed to the
deep window seat. “There will do I guess,” he said.

“What
are we going to do here?” Perry asked.

Ryan's
eyes cut to the princess who had her back to them as she oversaw the servants
and the fire. Apparently they were having trouble getting it started. He hoped
the chimney had been opened and checked recently. “Not here,” he said in
English, shutting his translator off. His eyes narrowing slightly as the
princess turned an ear to listen. Zara apparently understood some English he
realized. That was something they'd have to be aware of.  “We'll make sure
the King is stable and then go from there.”

“Move
on?”

“Right
now our only ride home is sitting right next to a battlefield and is right on
the convoy route of one of the armies. We can take them on but for how long?”

“True,”
Perry replied with a nod.

“Besides,”
Ryans said thoughtfully. “Doc had a point, Sydney, Nate, and Princess Deidra
too. We can be a help to these people. If they are willing to listen and put
the effort into it.”

“True,”
Perry said again, turning enough to see Zara frown and glance at them. He
caught on to why Ryans wasn't coming out with his plans now. He'd have to find
a secure place to talk then, soon.

“I'll
give you a ring later and we'll chat,” Ryans replied, knowing that little
euphemism would trip the eavesdropping princess up.

“Gossip,
right,” Perry replied with a slight smile. “Just like old times,” he said.

“Something
like that.”

<==={}------------>

Zara
caught up with Deidra shortly after she left the tower. Deidra had dressed in
her brown gown and robes, feeling much more comfortable after a bath and
regaining some of her own clothes. She was glad now her mother had insisted she
leave some behind. This one felt strange though at first. The gaijin's clothes
were more tightly woven and stitched. The soldier woman Lisa had explained in
their travels that they were made by machines. She could hardly understand it.

Zara
was wearing a light green outfit, a little small for her but it was presentable
for now. She curtsied to her mother who was sewing in the corner. “They are
settled in, at least the ones in the tower. They are not comfortable though.”

“It
has been a while since it has been aired out. It is the summer tower after
all,” the Queen replied with a nod.

Zara
frowned slightly. “It's not so much that mother as the gaijin are very clean
and neat. You should see their traveling carriages! Their camper!” she said
shaking her head.

“Perhaps
another time,” the Queen murmured in slight amusement at her daughter's
excitement.

“Did
they speak of their plans?” Deidra asked, crossing her arms. She looked around.
The ladies had been dismissed, only a servant girl was near. She was deaf and
therefore trustworthy. She tended the fire and kept quietly to herself.

“A
little,” Zara said, dry washing her hands a little. She sat on a stool,
adjusting her dress and then smoothing out any wrinkles in her lap. “They will
at least spend the night. The leader Ryans said he's not ready to commit too
much beyond that. The healer Sue is insisting they remain until father is
better.”

“Which
will be a long time if ever,” the Queen sighed. Zara stared at her and bit her
lip.

“I
have known it was coming for some time daughter,” the Queen said softly. Zara
was instantly distressed. Deidra nodded grimly at her mother's look of pain.
Her mother looked away, lifting her chin, fighting tears. “He is a stubborn man
and his age and health are against him. News of your brother's death has hit
him hard.”

“That
and its implications,” Deidra replied.

Her
mother turned to stare at her. “Indeed. It's implications on the succession and
on you my daughter. Your troubles...” she sighed at the flinty look Deidra had.
Zara flinched. “There is no child?”

“No,”
Deidra replied. “The gaijin healer gave us medicine to prevent it.”

“Excellent.
So we need not go into that matter any further. I so wished you two would have
brought that news in private though,” the Queen sighed and then smoothed the
cloth in front of her. “But what is done is done and we will deal with it.”

“Mother,
how goes the war preparations?” Deidra asked.

The
Queen grunted, putting her embroidery kit aside, into a basket beside her
chair. “Not well. Our coffers are full and we have many able bodied men but
this caught us by surprise with no warning. The wall fell too quickly as well.
We need time to prepare, to get the word out to our most distant lords and
lands and to at least get the seeds into the ground before we call our people
to war.”

Zara
bit her lip. Matters of state normally bored her. This was grim news though.
The hated Duluthians were concentrated and fouling their land but they would be
able to do nothing to drive them off for some time. And with father ill...

“It's
not all doom and gloom mother,” Deidra said, turning to the fire and then back
to her mother. “The gaijin.”

The
Queen nodded. “They are a bonus, if they remain.”

“If?”
Zara asked. She looked from her sister to her mother.

“If.
We dare not force them,” Deidra replied wrinkling her nose. “You and I have
seen their weapons. We can ill afford to lose men in trying to force them to do
our bidding.”

“At
least not now,” Zara replied. “I for one do not like that idea though; they
have been nothing but kind and generous to us.”

“True
and we will take that into account,” the Queen replied with a regal nod. “But
we must have their bloodlines. It has been far too long since gaijin have
walked our world.”

“One
in a century,” Zara replied with a knowing nod.

“Yes
the man who said he flew. I wonder now if he was telling the truth?” Deidra
asked, turning. “But I was not only referring to their blood mother,” she said.
Gaijin were treasured for their blood and for their knowledge. New knowledge
was a bargaining chip with other Kingdoms, and it could help their own people.
The stories the gaijin told were also fascinating to the people.